Rosa's Journey
by eikothewerewolf
Summary: 13 because of some light violence and swearing. Rosa and her Moogle friend Tog set out to find where all of the moogles have vanished too, but end up trying to unravel a conspiricy
1. Default Chapter

**Final Fantasy: Rosas Journey**

**_Rating:_** PG  
**_Genre_**: Adventure/ Mystery  
**_Setting:_** Technically the world of FF9, but it also travels all over the place  
**_Main Characters_**: Rosa, Tog

**_Part 1_**

It was a dreary day. Rosa sat in the old church in Alexandria. She had taken refuge in the church to escape the storm. Rosa was a warrior. She had been wandering around the docks of Alexandria when the storm had hit. Disliking rain, and not wanting to get wet, she had taken refuge in the nearest available building.

Rosa was bored. There was not much to do in the old church. But it wasn't just that. She was bored with life in Alexandria. It was dull. There was no action in this quiet little town. She banged her sword against the floor lazily. Suddenly she heard a squeak from outside. A moogle ran into the church, before shaking water off itself, all over Rosa. Angry Rosa screamed at the moogle.  
" What the hell do you think you're doing? You've completely soaked me!"

The moogle, afraid, backed into a corner, trembling. Feeling slightly guilty Rosa approached the little thing.

"Sorry." She murmured, "I didn't mean to shout". The moogle looked at her carefully, before standing up. Sensing that Rosa wasn't going to shout any more, the moogle introduced itself.

"Kupo! I'm Tog!" Rosa smiled at the moogle.

"Greetings Tog, I'm Rosa."

"What are you doing in the church Kupo?" Tog asked. Rosa explained that she had sheltered there against the weather.   
"You're bored with Alexandrian life Kupo?" Tog asked. Rosa looked surprised.

"How did you know that?"

"I can tell kupo."

Rosa smiled.

"I wish there was something exciting happening somewhere." She said. Tog looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Maybe there is" he said "have you noticed the lack of moogles around recently kupo? They've all vanished. Something must of happened to them!" Rosa stood up.

"I'll help you to find them Tog"

Rosa left the church, with Tog running behind, grateful for a chance to do something exciting.

END OF PART 1


	2. Rosa's Journey Part 2

**Final Fantasy: Rosas Journey**

**_Rating:_** PG  
**_Genre_**: Adventure/ Mystery  
**_Setting:_** Technically the world of FF9, but it also travels all over the place  
**_Main Characters_**: Rosa, Tog

**_Part 2_**

The storm had subsided. As they walked the streets of Alexandria Rosa noticed there was indeed a lack of moogles around the town. They were normally everywhere. But not today. She knew an old woman who was a good friend of the moogles. She headed for the woman's house. Perhaps she would know something. They approached the house, and Rosa banged on the door. A woman answered it, but she was a lot younger than Mrs. Fijiba.

"Hello. Could we see Mrs Fijiba please?" The young woman stared at her.

"Mrs Fijiba is dead. She died a few days ago" Rosa immediately felt awkward. She hated feeling like that, believing it to be a sign of weakness

"Oh." she mumbled "I'm…er…sorry. We wont bother you any longer then" The young woman, who seemed close to tears, nodded and went back inside. Rosa turned and walked away. Tog ran to catch up to her.

"Kupo, you really put your foot in that one!"

"Shut it you"

"Pssst" Rosa turned sharply. There was a cloaked figure nearby. It approached Rosa and Tog. "I'd be careful if I were you. The moogles were the reason that woman died"

"What!" Rosa cried out, taken aback"

"You heard me. She died protecting 'em" the figure then turned on its heel and walked away, before Rosa had a chance to react  
"KUPO!" she heard Tog shouting and glanced at him "you really are an idiot! Follow him! This is the perfect chance to find out what happened to my friends!" Rosa shook her head in surprise.

"Of course. Your right!" she turned, but the figure was nowhere to be seen. "Where did he go?"

"Kupo! You stood there looking stupid so long he could be anywhere by now"

Rosa felt incredibly stupid. She called herself a warrior, but she didn't even have the sense to follow a mysterious person who knew something about the moogles disappearance. A piece of paper fluttered down in front of them. Curious, Rosa picked it up.

_The Church. 2 hours._

That was all it said. Rosa gazed at it.

"You think this is for us?"

"Who cares Kupo? Even if it isn't, we may find out something useful" Rosa nodded.

"We have a while. Let's chat to a few people about the disappearances."

The two of them headed off towards the town square. An ominous shadow watched them leave, and chuckled to itself.

END OF PART 2


	3. Rosa's Journey Part 3

**Final Fantasy: Rosas Journey**

**_Rating:_** PG  
**_Genre_**: Adventure/ Mystery  
**_Setting:_** Technically the world of FF9, but it also travels all over the place  
**_Main Characters_**: Rosa, Tog

**_Part 3_**

Nobody knew anything useful. Rosa felt incredibly frustrated. Why were the people of this town so ignorant? Surely somebody must have been curious about the moogles disappearance. There was nothing else left. If the note about the church didn't give them a lead, nothing would. Two hours had just about passed. Rosa felt Tog tug at the hem of her trousers.

"Kupo, its time to go to the church." Rosa nodded, and turning on her heel headed to the church.

They arrived a little late. Carefully Rosa peered around the door. There, again, was a shadowy figure standing towards the back of the church. There was nobody else. Cautiously, Rosa entered the church, Tog just behind her. The figure turned sharply. Rosa realised that she had suddenly stopped. The figure snapped at them.

"Your late!" Angry at this Rosa snapped right back.

"Only a few minutes"

"Promptness is the very essence of life."

"Quit with the riddles! What is it you wanted to tell us" maybe it was just the shadows, but Rosa felt certain that the figure was giving her a sinister smile. But that was stupid. Whoever it was, they were completely covered by a long, dark cloak.

"Oh, contraire my dear. I do not want to tell you anything. I merely wish to dispose of you, before you ruin my plans." Rosa gasped, and drew her sword. Tog gave a squeak of alarm. The mysterious figure seemed to grow in size. It suddenly moved what could be defined as its hand. Rosa rolled to the side, just as a fireball hit the ground where she had been standing. Tog was dancing in the background.

"Tog! What are you doing! We need to attack him, not dance!" Tog finished his dance with a stamping motion. Behind Rosa, the earth shook, damaging the cloaked figure. Rosa smiled slightly.

"Cool move Tog." She flourished her sword and faced the figure. "Now" she hissed "prepare to meet your end." She flew at the figure, slashing with her sword. The figure collapsed the point of Rosas sword at its throat. "Now, where are the moogles? Tell us and I'll make sure your death is quick" The figure gasped slightly, and slumped over. Tog ran over.

"What happened Kupo?"

"He must have died of fright, I didn't touch him." just then, another voice rang out behind Rosa.

"He had to die; I can't allow him to live, when he cannot even dispose of a girl and her pet." Tog bristled with anger at being called a pet. Rosa spun around. Another figure stood behind her.

"So, you wish to meet your end too?" the figure laughed.

"I think not. There is nothing you can do to harm me! And now, I think it is time that I got rid of you." The figure moved its hand in a similar motion to the first. Rosa suddenly doubled up. She could hear Tog screaming at her, in a clear panic. The room was spinning. Everything had gone blurry. All she could hear was the laughter of the cloaked figure, and Togs squeaking. Her blood seemed to have frozen. All she could feel was coldness. The room darkened, the cold became more intense. The laughter and Togs voice were dying down. Then there was complete silence. Rosa could hear nothing. There was just silence, and coldness. She could also feel the hard ground beneath her knees, and she realised that there was blood flowing from her knees. Her head still spun. She felt like she had fallen to the ground, incredibly hard, although she could remember sinking slowly to her knees. She certainly hadn't fallen hard enough to cut herself. She slowly opened her eyes, dreading what she would see.

END OF PART 3


	4. Rosa's Journey Part 4

**Final Fantasy: Rosas Journey**

**_Rating:_** PG  
**_Genre_**: Adventure/ Mystery  
**_Setting:_** Technically the world of FF9, but it also travels all over the place  
**_Main Characters_**: Rosa, Tog

**_Part 4_**

Rosa shivered. The coldness was numbing. Rosa opened her eyes slowly, looking around. She could see her breath freezing in the air. The place she had landed was a desolate wasteland. Snow scattered the wind driven landscape, the bitterly cold wind blowing it up in clouds, and whipping Rosas hair around her face. Her knees throbbed painfully, blood staining the frozen ground she knelt on. She attempted to stand up, but a throbbing pain from the scratches on her knees made her collapse again. She found herself wishing that Tog was with her. But he wasn't. She was completely alone. She swivelled herself around, slowly, painfully, until she was no longer kneeling. The effort involved, mixed with the continuous, throbbing pain shooting through her knees made her feel sick. She sat on the ground, holding her head with her hands, willing the pain to stop, to go away.

Slowly, and partly because of the sheer coldness of the wind, the pain died down. Rosa was half afraid to try standing up again, in case the pain came rushing back as soon as she forced her injured knees to work. But she reasoned that staying put would do her no good at all. She wouldn't be able to find Tog if she stayed there and there was a high possibility that she would freeze to death staying still in the bitter coldness that surrounded her. Taking a deep breath, and shutting her eyes, she stood up slowly. She felt a dull throbbing in her knees, and knew that by walking she was only going to make the pain worse. But she had no other choice. She forced herself forward, staggering slowly across the barren landscape, searching for a sign of a town, a village, a farmhouse. Anywhere where she could escape the cold, and try to do something about her scratched knees.

She lost track of time, staggering along in the bleak wilderness, all her energy was focused on continuing to walk. After a while, the numbness in her knees had faded, ad she was left with only the blinding pain. There was no sign of any dwellings. Several times the extremeness of the pain caused her to nearly black out, but Rosa knew that if she stopped, or collapsed, she would never be able to find the will power to continue, and she would sit there and freeze. But she also realised that if she didn't find some sort of shelter soon the effort of staying awake would become to much, she would collapse from exhaustion. As the time drifted slowly on, she found herself wondering how she had got herself into this situation. Her idea of adventure didn't include staggering around catching pneumonia, with cut knees, making walking more difficult. All she could do was be thankful that there was no driving wind. To battle against the wind while in as much pain as she was would have been complete torture. Stumbling slightly, Rosa's mind was brought back to Gaia. She just managed to catch herself, stop herself from falling, and she jerked upright again, wincing as a fresh wave of pain swept through her legs. Her muscles were tired with carrying her, when she was injured like this. She was afraid she would not even be able to force herself onwards if she couldn't rest her aching muscles. But up ahead she could see a blur on the horizon, which seemed to be spouting smoke. With a slightly renewed vigour, she staggered towards it, drawing nearer by the minute.

Not long after she could see that the blur was a house, quite a large house, backed by a small grove of trees. She was stumbling more towards it now, and it became apparent to her that the ground had gone into a slope. The house was built in a dip in the wasteland, impossible to see over the flat expanses of the frozen tundra.

She reached the house, and put the last of her strength into tugging on the bell rope that hung lifelessly by the door. A deep, resounding tone ran through the house. Rosa stood outside, swaying, and praying that whoever lived here would be kind enough to allow her refuge from the cold which had stung her body and now chilled her bones. The door handle shifted after what seemed like an age to Rosa, and the door swung inwards slowly. Standing behind the door was a tall, well dressed man. Rosa opened her mouth to ask for shelter from the cold, but her energy had vanished. She fell forward slowly, onto the steps, unconscious from the pain and the cold.

END OF PART 4


	5. Rosa's Journey Part 5

**Final Fantasy: Rosas Journey**

**Rating: PG  
Genre: Adventure/ Mystery  
Setting: Technically the world of FF9, but it also travels all over the place  
Main Characters: Rosa, Tog**

_**Part 5**_

Rosa's eyes flickered open. She stared upwards at the ceiling, thinking. She felt no pain in her knees, yet distinctly remembered the pain from before. She wondered if everything had been a dream up til now. But as she gazed upwards a small thought told her that it wasn't her home. She sat up quickly. Her eyes swept the room. It was a circular room, with a wood ceiling, criss-crossed with beams. There was a single window, covered in a pane of dirty glass. Rosa looked down at her knees. They were completely healed. Swallowing, she stood up, swaying as her weakened legs tried to hold her up. She staggered groggily over to the window, and, using her sleeve, she wiped a small circle through the grime and dust that covered the window. She peered through the glass at the barren landscape. It was clear that she was in a small tower, and she could see the house below her. She staggered back to the bed and sat gingerly on the edge of it. 

She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Her gaze riveted on the heavy wooden door to the tower. As she watched the approaching footsteps drew closer, and somebody rapped smartly on the door. As she watched, the handle turned and the door creaked open ominously. The man from earlier then stepped into the room. He saw Rosa sitting up on the bed, and gave a smart bow. He straightened up, and Rosa's curiosity overcame her.

"Who are you?" she asked. The man looked blankly at her.

"My name is unimportant. I am merely the butler here madam. I am glad to see madam has awoken."

"Where am I?"

"In my masters home. Madam was injured. I healed you. Perhaps madam would care for some food before leaving?" Rosa though for a second. The tone of the butlers voice suggested that she wasn't really welcome here. She smiled.

"I think I need a bit more rest first." The butlers expression didn't falter for a moment.

"As madam wishes" He bowed again and left the room, closing the door behind him. Rosa flopped back on the bed, thinking. If she wasn't welcome here, clearly there was something that the master of this place wished to hide. She listened intently to the butlers footsteps fading away. She could slip out of the room easily, and snoop around a bit. But if she ran into the master of the home, or even the butler, who knew what kind of trouble she may find herself in. Still, she thought, if she stayed here she would learn nothing. And she was actually starving. She figured that there must be some sort of food here. Quietly, she stood. Swaying on the spot, she waited until some sort of feeling returned to her legs, before walking cautiously to the door. It creaked when opened. That was a bit of a problem. She listened intently for sounds. Fortunately she heard no sound. Perhaps the door wouldn't be heard from any other part of the house. Taking a deep breath she opened the door carefully. It creaked horribly as it opened, and Rosa felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't want to be caught this soon. But nobody came running to see what it was. She breathed out softly, before creeping down the narrow passageway that led to the room.

She felt hopelessly lost. Every passage in this house looked the same as the others. Every few minutes she stopped listening intently, to see if anyone had heard her creeping, or if anyone happened to be walking towards her. Her stomach was growling almost consistently. She was starving. She was now trying to find some sort of food, rather than what was hidden in the house. She slumped against a wall in frustration. Then she heard it. A quiet mumbling. It seemed to be coming from the door just to her left. She approached it curiously, kneeling down by the large keyhole. She listened intently, but the mumbling was no clearer. All she could make out was a masculine sounding voice, and every so often an harsh, feminine voice cutting in with remarks. There was an even more muffled voice as well. Curiously, she lay her head on the floor, peering through the crack under the floor. As she looked through the crack she saw two people heading, with their backs to her, out of a door at the far end of the room. Just before they left the room, one of them, a tall man, turned to the other, and said something, angrily it seemed to Rosa. They both left the room, and the door closed behind them. Rosa allowed her gaze to travel over the room, searching for the owner of the third voice. Her gaze fell upon it. A girl was tied to a chair, by her wrists and ankles. A gag stopped her from shouting for help. As Rosa watched, the girl struggled against her bonds. Rosa wondered whether she should help. She stood cautiously. She rested her hand on the door handle, thinking about what to do. As she thought a sound reached her ears. A regular tapping rhythm. In shock, Rosa realised someone was walking down a passage towards her. Thinking quickly, she pushed open the door, closing it swiftly behind her, and praying that the girl was not an enemy.

END OF PART 5


	6. Rosa's Journey Part 6

**Final Fantasy: Rosas Journey**

**_Rating: _**PG  
**_Genre:_** Adventure/ Mystery  
**_Setting:_** Technically the world of FF9, but it also travels all over the place  
**_Main Characters:_** Rosa, Tog

_**Part 6**_

Rosa's breathing slowed as the footsteps passed and died away down the corridor. Only then did she turn slowly. Facing her was a girl, a petrified look in her eyes. Rosa gave a start as she realised that the girl was tied to a chair. Clearly terrified the girl whispered softly.

"Who are you?" Rosa thought to herself. Clearly, this girl was not an enemy; she seemed too young and unthreatening to harm anyone. She must have been fourteen, fifteen maybe. But then, that meant whoever owned this house was an enemy. She had felt unwelcome by the butler, and maybe this girl was the reason why. Listening carefully to make sure that nobody was coming, she answered the girl quickly.

"My names Rosa. Who are you and what are you doing here?" The girl looked shocked to be questioned again, but she stuttered out an answer.

"I'm Alicia. They kidnapped me." That wasn't the answer that Rosa wanted to hear. That meant the owner of this house was indeed someone to be wary of. It would probably be better to just leave now while she had the chance. But she couldn't just leave the girl here. Could she? The girl was likely to slow her down, and something told Rosa that wasn't a good thing at this moment. But then again, it may be useful to have a companion. She still couldn't forget that last time she had been alone it had been hell getting as far as this house. Her thoughts drifted from the immediate predicament, to Tog. What had happened to him? And who was the cloaked figure who had sent her here? She recalled Togs terrified squeaks as the room had vanished. With a sigh, she turned and walked to the girl. She knew she would feel guilty if she didn't help. She knelt by the ropes and started to pick them open.

Time ticked past all too quickly for Rosa's liking. The ropes were knotted in a complicated way. Alicia suddenly hissed at Rosa.

"Hurry up, I can hear someone coming!" sure enough, footsteps were gradually coming nearer. Panicking, Rosa fumbled with the last knot. She wasn't going to get it undone in time. With a last desperate attempt, she ripped t the knot. Fortunately, it slipped free, and the girl jumped to her feet. But just too late. The door at the far end of the room opened slowly. Rosa swallowed before grabbing Alicia's arm and dragging her to the opposite door. She ripped it open and hauled the girl into the corridor. She pushed the door closed, just at the same time as a yell sounded from the room. Alicia turned and touched the keyhole of the door. Rosa heard a low grating sound, before the girl turned back to Rosa and said, hastily.

"Let's get out of here."

The two ran down the passage, Rosa listening desperately for sounds of a chase. But there was none. The two girls ran through the house, Rosa praying that they would find a way out soon. It was disturbing that there were no sounds of riot, confusion or a chase. Rosa just hoped that something worse wasn't going to happen. The passage split in two up ahead. One passage was far darker than the other. Rosa sprinted immediately up the lighter passage, Alicia just behind her. A door loomed up ahead. Relief flooded through Rosa's mind. Too soon.

With a crash, something fell from the ceiling. It seemed bluish in colour, and formed of a rocky substance. It had four long legs, ending in stumps instead of feet, and each leg thick and sturdy. Its body was round, and there seemed no distinction to where the body stopped and the creatures head began. It had three eyes, each one a bloodshot slit across the centre of the creatures face. It opened its mouth, which sported two fangs, dripping with saliva and let out a sound somewhere between a roar and a screech. It took two steps forward, its weight causing dust to fall from the ceiling. Rosa swallowed. The monster looked a tough match, but it was clearly slow. She head Alicia mutter a word behind her.

"Protect" so the girl was a white mage. That could prove useful. She shouted orders to the girl.

"Alicia, use any supportive magic you can. I'm gonna attack this bastard!" she drew her sword, waiting for the creature to make the first move. It swung one of its legs in a wide arc, aiming at Rosa's head. She dodged, rolling to one side and straightening up close enough to smash one of the creature legs with her sword. It swept the leg she struck outwards, knocking her back against the wall, and driving the breath from her body. She gave a gasp. Her blow had done little damage. She clambered to her feet, before running to it and attacking again. The creature merely swept her aside like an annoying fly. She couldn't damage it! How were they going to escape with this creature blocking there path.

END OF PART 6


End file.
